Improvement in machines for rounding and backing books



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`.Machines fur`Rounding and Backing Books. No, 158,679. Pat'entedlan. 12,1875.

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- '1. E. CUFFIN. l Machines for Rounding a'ndBacking Books.

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J'. E. Cornu. Machines for Rounding and Ba'ckingnpks.

Patented Jan.. 12, 1875.

TNITED Srn'rns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN n. OOFFIN, on PORTLAND, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR ROUNDlNG AND BACKINC-v BOOKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l 58,679, dated January 12,1875; application filed October 24, 1874.

i Awhich are technically known in the bookbinders art as rounding and backing in progressive operations, more expeditiously,

cheaper, and better. than the machines now in use for the same purposes, which said machine is particularly described in the following specification, and the matters which I consider of my invention set forth in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which` Figure 1 is a sectional elevation taken on the linewx of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section of a portion of the machine in a plane of the cam-shaft on line z z of Fig. 2, showing the cams and driving-gear. Fig. 4 is a detail section of the adjusting device for setting the clamping-jaws for books, diftering in thickness. Fig. 5 is a detail `in section of the adjusting device for varying the height of the clamping-jaws relatively to the pressurebar and the backing-bar. p

The dotted figures, 6, 7, and 8, show the different stages of the book, the nrst representing the form of the book when put into the machine, the second the form after the rounding process, and the third after rounding and backing. i 1.

Fig. 9 is a view of 'the jaw-frame and operl ating mechanism, and Fig. 10 is a view of the toggle-'levers for opening and closing jawlevers.

.Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. v

A represents the jaws for holding the book while being rounded, andclamping it while being backed. They are armed with metal facings B, which consist of the upper .portions of wide metal plates l0,which extend down half the length or more of the legs of the jaws on each side of a lifting cross-head, D,

and are connected together below it by the right and left screws E, to adjust them in the lower part to the thickness of the book, which is presented to the jaws between them. These plates are suspended from the jaws by a iiange, F, upon each turned over on the top of its jaw, and they are prevented from rising up by a pin, Gr, projecting under the jaw. The lifting cross-head extends at each end J from between the plates into a groove in an upright, I. These uprights are pivoted at the lower end to a block, K, arranged in a vertical slot, L, in the free end of a strongarni, M, mounted on a rock-shaft, N, there being two of said arms, one to each upright, to raise the jaws and lift the book up to the'backingbar after the pressure-bar has rounded the back. The blocks K each have an adjustingscrew, O, for raising and lowering them, to adjust the jaws vertically, which are pivoted to a frame supported by these uprights at their top, and the screws arev geared to a shaft, P, having a hand-wheel for turning them conveniently. R is a horizontal frame, which is carried on the top of theuprights for the support of the jaws. It has parallel grooves, S, in which 'shifting .pivotblocks T, to which the jaws are pivoted, are arranged; and these blocks for the two jaws are connected at each end by a right and left screw,

, and the screws are geared together with a shaft having a hand-Wheel, to adjust them more or less apart for books differing'in thickness. This frame is lifted by the rock-arms M, shaft N, lever N2, and cam N3, and it has guides in the frame at N4. The front plate G has a large openin g through it under the front jaw and between its legs, through which the books are to be presented and placed on the lifting cross-head, to be lifted up between the jaws. A door, X, is hinged to this plate at the bottom of the opening and connected to therock-lever Y by the rod Z, which is actuated by the face-cam a on the camshaft b, to close the door when the book is placed on it, for placing the book on the lifter and holding it there until it is lifted up and griped by the aws.

J The door has spring-holders, d, to gage the lower edge of the book, and hold it while the door is moving it up over the lifter, l v

The springs are pressed against the lifter as the door closes', and are pushed back from un der the back by the lifter as the book passes over it. They are secured in slots e, so that they spring back into the slots out of the way of the lifter, and the fastening-screwsare adjustable up and down the slots, to shift the spring-holders according to the height of the book to be presented. The rod Z, by which the door is connected to the rock-lever Y, is adjustable, as to its length, to suit the requirements for shutting the door properly in all cases. The lifting cross-head D is connected, by the jointed and extensible rod f, with the rock-arm g pivoted on the shaft h, and connected, by the rod i, with the lever j, which rests on thev face-cam k, and is pivoted to the frame at Z. This cam allows, by its depression between the elevations m and n, the lifter to fall down below the spring-stopsto receive the book, which is presented above it,

and the door is closed while the depression is passing the point of contact with the lever j, which is the roller p. The elevation n then causes the lifter to rise, and presents the top of the book up between and above the jaws, and the circular portion g between the two elevations holds the book in that position, while the rounding presser-bar fr comes down and curves or rounds the top, and, together with the lifter, which is convex on the top, produces the forms represented at top and bottom of the dotted line, Fig. 7. This presser-bar consists of two parallel concave bars, together forming a halfcircle, or nearly, and they are mounted on the rock-levers t pivoted on the rod u, which is suspended from the curved bars w by the adjusting-screws y attached to the rock-shaft z. The long arms of the levers t are connected, by the toggle-bars al, with the rod b1 held in the ends ofthe forked curved arms c1 pivoted on the rock-shaft z. This rod b1 is also fitted to slide in the slotted bars c1 toward and from the rod o, on which the arms of the presser-bar are pivoted to swing the two parts of the presser-bar toward and from each other. The rock-shaft z is connected, by arm f1 and rod g1, with the lever h1, which rests on the small face-cam il of cam-shaft b, to be raised by the elevation j1 to swing the presser-bar down on the top of the book for rounding the latter. The arm c1 is connected, by arm k1 and rod l1, with the lever m1, which is pivoted to the frame at nl, and s lifted by the stud-pin o1 on the wheel p1 immediately after the presser-bar has moved down on the book, tovclose the presser-bar thereon and complete the shape. The arms c1 and the rod b1 are carried mainly by and with the arms m, but the stud-pin passes under the inclined flange at the moment the presser-bar stops and moves arm c1 a little farther than` it is carried by arms m, thus forcing the presserbar together by the toggle contrivanoe. The stud-pin o1 then passes under the curved flange r1, and holds the pressure bar in the closed position for a short time; then, when the stud frees the lever m1, the elevation j of camreleases the arms m, and the spring s1 pulls the presser-bar back out of the way, to allow the backing-bar t1 to act for producing Fig. 8. This bar, which is of round form, with the under side slightly flattened, has journals v1 eccentric to the axis, and coincident, or nearly so, with the bottom, which are fitted in the bearing-blocks w1 lit-ted in slots x1 of the rockers y1, to slide up and down by adjusting-screws 21 to adjust the backing-bar toward and from the jaws. Inside of the bearing-blocks w1 the backing-bar has levers a2 attached rigidly to control the oscillations of the bar, and these bars extend downward a suitable distance, where they are connected by stud-pin b2 projecting from the rocker-arms c2 into slotted holes in them. The rockers y1 are pivoted to the uprights d2 at their upper ends, and they gear, by toothed segments at the lower ends, with the segments of the upper ends of the lower rockers to b e worked by them for moving the backing-bar forward and backward in a curved path over the top of the book to shape it. The levers a2 at the same time oscillate the backing-bar, so that the pressure is made a little greater upon the outer signatures ofthe book, by reason of the flatness of the under side of the bar, than in the middle portion, thereby imparting the projecting form of said outer signatures. (Shown at c2, Fig. 8.)

This pressure-bar will, in practice, have upon its upper convex edge, and at the extremities of the arc thereof, two shoulders, to afford a support for the outer signatures and prevent them from being pressed down out of place during the rounding. These signatures will be held in place by the jaws during the backing. The lower rockers are pivoted at f2 to the frame, and at the upper end are connected by the rods f2 with the cranks h2 of the4 revolvin g shaft t2, to be worked forward and backward for working the backin g-bar. This crank-shaft is geared by the loose pinion j" and clutch k2 with the wheel p1 of the camshaft, so as to have several revolutions to one of the cam-shaft, and thus work the backingbar several times for every book. The crankshaft is put in gear at the proper timel by the spring Z2, which throws the clutch in, and it is stopped when the backing-bar has performed its work by the cam. m2, which throws the clutch out by the lever u2,- but just before the backing-bar is set in operation the jaws are to be closed to clamp the book firmly after it has been adj usted and rounded by the presserbar. For this purpose the jaws are connected together at the lower ends of their legs by the toggle-bars o2, which are also connected by the same pivots p2 that connect them to the legs with the stationary bars q2 of the frame, the said pivots being arranged in the slots r2 of saidbars to allow the toggle-bars to draw the jaw-legs toward and from each other. They are also connected to bars q2 by their the form at the top of the head represented in' joint-pivots a3 in vertical slots b3, to guide the bars in opening and closing the jaws, and the legs have a slot, s2, to allow them to rise and fall on the pivots as they are adjusted to` ward and from the backing-bar by the frame R. The toggle-bars are connected by a rod,

t2, with a .rock-arm, wz, of the shaft h, to be forced down for closing the jaws by the facecaln x2, acting on the lever y2 of the shaft. Thetoggle-bars are thrown up again to open the jaws by the springszz. rJlhe upper rockers, to which the backing-bar is pivoted, are pivoted in the top of the uprights d2 for the purpose of being swung back out of the way of the presser-bar when it moves down to acton the book. These uprights are connected by the toggle-bars c3 with the frame d3, and the toggle-bars are connected by rod e3 with the levers f4, which are pressed down to swing the backing-bar forward to the working position by the cams g4, and they are forced up to draw it back by springs h4. The cams g4 come into action and move the backing-bar forward justbefore the clutch k2 is thrown in and the rockers set in mot-ion, and they hold the backing-bar in position,whi1e it works and releases it at the moment when the clutch is thrown out, when the. springs h4 immediately throw up the toggle-bars and swing the backing-bar back out of the way again. As soon as the jaws have been pressed together and the book clamped for the backing-bar to act, the door is freed by the cam a, and thc spring a4 presses down the lever Y and opens the door to receive another book while the one in the jaws is being backed. The door remains open until the book is completed and removed, and then swings up again, as before, to v deliver another book. The completedbook is taken out of the jaws at the top, being raised a little after the jaws have relaxedtheir pressure by the elevation u of cam It, to allow the attendant to take hold of it readily above the jaws. The backing-bar and the pressure-bar both swing back far enough to allow of lifting th'e book out in this manner.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patand having adjusting-screws, substantially as specified.

4. The adjustable holding-springs d,co1nbined with the slotted door x and the lifter, substantially as specified.

5. The jaws A, frame R, uprights L, rockarms M, shaft N, and cams N3, combined and arranged substantially as specified.

4 6. The jaw-supporting frame, connected adjustably to the arms M by arms I pivoted to blocks K and screws O, in combination with the pressure-bar and the backing-bar, substantially as specified;

7. The combination of the-jaw-legs, togglebars o2, 'stationary arms q2, and the lever cu2, the legs and the stationary-arms having slots for the connecting-pivots 102, as described.

8. The combination, with the backing-bar, pivoted eccentrically to the rockers y1, of the armspazfconnected to the lower rockers c2, substantially as speciiied.

9. The pressure-bar, composed of end parts r, with levers t jointed to rod v to open and close said bar, substantially as specified.

The combination of rock-arm c1, cam-shoe q1 r1, levers k1 Z1, rod b1, and bars al and e1 with the divided pressure-bar r, levers t, and the rock-arms m, substantially as specitied.

JOHN E. GOFFIN. Witnesses:

EDWARD W. Fox, CHARLES P. MA'rTIcKs. 

